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U.S. stocks finished session down due again to high oil prices. The August contract closed up 70 cents at $60.54 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. This was the first time that oil price closes above $60 a barrel. The Dow fell 7.06 points, to close at 10,290. Also, the Nasdaq fell 8.07 points, to close at 2,045, while the S&P closed at 1,190, after falling 0.88 points.

Oil prices increased due to concerns that Iran’s new president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, may put a limit on foreign investment. Ahmadinejad said in a speech that he would favor domestic companies in order to develop the country’s oil reserves, which is the world’s second biggest. This means that there might be a slowdown in Iran’s oil output since demand for gasoline and jet fuel is increasing in U.S. and China.

Among Dow components, Alcoa Inc., General Motors Corp., Pfizer Inc., and Walt Disney Co. posted heavy losses, however the losses of the Dow were tempered by a 2 percent spike in Exxon Mobil, and Boeing Co. Boeing ended the first quarter with $3.3 billion in cash while cash and marketable securities totaled $6.3 billion.

Google Inc. rose above $300 for the first time after being a public company for a little less than a year. The company, which first sold shares to the market at $85 each, surpassed Time Warner Inc. as the industry’s most valuable company on June. Shares of Google ended $6.85 higher at a record $304.10. Also, Walgreen Co. the top U.S drugstore chain, jumped $1.47 to close at $45.85, after reporting a better-than-expected fiscal third quarter.

All the best,
Manuel Jesus-Backus
The Portfolio Crafter